Many commercially available fluid products require application by the end user in a controlled fashion. These include, for example, touch-up paint for vehicles, brush-on adhesives, topical medications, shoe polish, liquid cosmetics and the like. These products typically come in bottles or other containers having applicator devices for dispensing and applying the fluids in their intended fashion.
Perhaps the most widely used of these products is nail polish. Nail polish ordinarily comes in a bottle having a cap which includes an applicator brush. As the brush is dipped into the bottle it is coated with an excess of polish. By wiping the brush across the lip of the bottle, the excess polish can be removed from the brush, leaving an amount which can be applied to a nail in a manageable fashion.
One of the most annoying problems in applying nail polish and other similar products is the need to continually dip the applicator in the bottle. That is, since conventional applicators are only able to hold and apply a limited amount of these products at a time, the applicator constantly must be replenished with product by dipping it in the bottle. Not only does this process make the process of applying nail polish messy, but it also lengthens the application time considerably.
Considerable attempts have been made to overcome these negative aspects of applying fluid products, and particularly nail polish, in a controlled fashion. Thus, prior art devices are extant which seek to eliminate the need to continually dip the nail polish applicator in the bottle in order to replenish the applicator with polish.
For example, Ferris, U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,854, is directed to a container and applicator for liquid products, such as nail polish. The container supports an applicator brush at an inclined position. The applicator brush includes a tubular shank having bristles at one end and a squeeze bulb at the other end. Squeezing the bulb with the bristles immersed in the liquid draws the liquid upward into an enlarged recess. Thereafter, as the bulb is squeezed the liquid is forced outwardly onto the bristles for application. The problem with this device is that it provides little control. In other words, since the shank must be large enough in diameter to draw the liquid into the recess relatively quickly, it will permit the liquid to flow outwardly in a similarly rapid fashion. The only way of controlling this outward flow is by the difficult task of regulating the amount of pressure which is manually exerted on the squeeze bulb.
In another such device, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,576 to Torrent, a pipette applicator is connected to a flexible chamber within the bottle cap. As a plunger at the top of the bottle cap is pressed, the chamber is deformed to either draw the liquid product into the chamber or to dispense the liquid product therefrom. Since the liquid product is drawn into the chamber and discharged through the same tubular stem, this device is also difficult to control in terms of accurately dispensing the liquid product. Further, the vapor-tight seal between the chamber and the bottle would make this device impractical for use with liquid products including solvents, such as nail polish, paints and adhesives. That is, since the vapor-tight seal would prevent solvents within the bottle from reaching the chamber, any residue of the liquid product within the chamber would quickly dry out and harden, hampering any further use of the device.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,996 to Gueret, liquid product within a bottle is drawn upwardly by capillary action through the bristles of an applicator brush and into a hollow reservoir which surrounds an upper portion of the applicator brush. During application, a continuous amount of the liquid product is supplied to the applicator brush from the reservoir. Not only is this device difficult and costly to manufacture due to its complex configuration and its many components, but it only marginally extends the application time before having to reimmerse the brush in the liquid product in the bottle due to the limited capacity of the reservoir.
Morane et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,759, is directed to yet another device for applying a liquid product, and particularly for applying nail polish. In this device, the applicator brush is connected to one end of a rod which is slidably mounted in a hollow sheath secured to the bottle cap. As the bottle is inverted, the rod slides toward the cap, withdrawing a major portion of the brush into the sheath, and the interior of the sheath fills with the liquid product through inlet apertures. When the bottle is returned to its normal upright position, gravity causes the rod to move downward until an enlarged end of the rod closes the open end of the sheath, thereby trapping the liquid product within the sheath. The device is then used to apply polish to a nail in a conventional fashion. The applicator brush can be replenished with polish when it runs dry by pressing the brush against a surface, such as a nail, thereby displacing the rod upwardly in the sheath so that the polish can drain from within the sheath onto the brush. The flow of polish to the applicator brush is stopped by lifting the brush from the nail to again close the open end of the sheath. There are many significant drawbacks associated with the structure and operation of this device which make the device totally impractical for use as an applicator. One such drawback is the reliance on gravity to seal the open end of the sheath. Thus, the presence of a foreign particle at the sheath outlet or the improper manipulation of the applicator may result in leakage of the liquid product from the sheath outlet and possibly even from the sheath inlet. Further, since it is difficult to regulate the amount by which the rod is displaced upwardly in the sheath, the amount of liquid product flowing onto the applicator brush will be similarly difficult to control. In addition, the relatively large size of the sheath and the relative ease with which the applicator brush can be moved upwardly within the sheath make this applicator device cumbersome and difficult to use.
There therefore exists a need for an applicator which can be replenished with a fluid product in a controlled fashion so that the product can be applied for extended lengths of time without having to continually immerse the applicator in the bottle containing the fluid product. Preferably, such applicator will have a simple construction which can be manufactured easily and inexpensively. Even more preferably, such applicator will look like and be used in much the same manner as conventional applicators such as to be readily accepted by the general public.